The Trump administration’s trend of paying off offshore wind developers to cancel their projects continued Aug. 6 with the $1.22 billion agreement for RWE to nix its wind leases off New York, California, and Louisiana, and instead invest the money in natural gas.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) settlement with Germany-based RWE extends the effort initiated by President Donald Trump’s personal disdain for offshore wind turbines. The slate of cancelations began with a $1 billion agreement in March with France’s TotalEnergies, and additional deals followed to eliminate wind projects with Chicago-based Invenergy, Spain’s Ocean Winds, the U.K.’s Reventus Power, and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners.
The RWE agreement includes the cancelation of the Community Offshore Wind project off New York and New Jersey, as well as additional leases off the coast of northern California and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Facing strong opposition from the Trump administration and potential lawsuits, RWE said in a statement, “After careful consideration, it was determined there is no path forward to permit these projects in the U.S. for the foreseeable future.”
Instead, RWE agreed to invest the money in fossil fuels. Most notably, RWE will pay $900 million for a 16% stake in Woodside Energy’s massive Louisiana LNG project. The liquefied natural gas export project was authorized last year and is expected to begin coming online in 2029, according to Australia-based Woodside.
RWE said it’s investing another $300 million in gas-fired turbines for U.S. power plant projects.
RWE insisted it remains committed to developing offshore wind projects worldwide—just not in the U.S. for now while facing staunch opposition from Trump.
However, the ongoing DOJ settlements to cancel wind projects face legal fights. In June, several states sued the federal government, arguing the “sham settlement” agreements are unlawful and harm their states through the loss of clean energy projects—especially at a time when power demand is surging thanks to the AI boom and broader electrification trends.
California also has filed notices of intent to sue. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) said Aug. 6 the Trump administration is trying to kill the nascent offshore industry on the West Coast before it can get off the ground.
“The Trump administration is trying to completely throttle California’s offshore wind industry—saddling families and businesses with more expensive, polluting energy,” said Katelyn Roedner Sutter, the EDF’s California senior director. “Paying companies to shut down massive sources of clean, reliable power while our state’s electricity needs keep growing is a recipe for higher costs. Californians did not sign up for these wasteful payouts that mean higher bills, more pollution and less jobs.”
Likewise, the Turn Forward offshore wind advocacy organization targeted Trump’s attacks on East Coast wind.
“These buyouts are not one-for-one ‘swaps’ for another kind of energy,” said Turn Forward executive director Hillary Bright. “When you eliminate future utility-scale power sources from busy population centers, you need a clear Plan B to avoid future grid stress. Replacing coastal offshore wind with LNG in Louisiana does nothing to address rising ratepayer affordability concerns, reliability challenges, or potential gaps in power supply in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.”
